A tobacco harvester using a defoliating belt has been previously known as illustrated in the Alphin et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,695,014 that issued Oct. 3, 1972. In the Alphin et al. patent, the defoliator belt assumed a V configuration with a top return track and had a plurality of apertures therein. The defoliator means came into contact with a stalk whereby the stalk passed upwardly through apertures of the defoliator belt, and during the constant downward movement of the belt in a frontal inclined portion, leaves on the tobacco stalk were stripped therefrom. In this fashion, the Alphin et al. tobacco harvester was useful in one-pass harvesting of the tobacco crop where a low profile tobacco was planted. As further explained in the Alphin et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,695,014, tobacco harvesters of the instant general type are economical for small as well as large tobacco farmers, thus making the unit particularly desirable.
In using the tobacco harvester of the previously mentioned Alphin et al patent and further the improved embodiments, as particularly described and claimed herein, an operator may make a single pass through a field of tobacco and remove the leaves from the stalks without excessive damage thereto. The separate tobacco leaves are conveyed to a collection bin or the like where the leaves are stored for further processing. This particular scheme of tobacco harvesting finds advantageous use in conjunction with bulk curing operations for the tobacco leaves.
The tobacco harvester of the present invention represents an improvement over the harvester described and claimed in the aforementioned Alphin et al. patent. While the prior art is exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 2,702,134 to Alphin, Jr.,; U.S. Pat. No. 3,178,873 to Meyer; U.S. Pat. No. 3,179,263 to Walter; U.S. Pat. No. 3,470,882 to Clark; U.S. Pat. No. 3,507,103 to Pickett et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 3,542,038 to Hooper, no known prior art is believed to anticipate or suggest the improved tobacco harvester of the present invention.